Budgam- Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said he did not authorise the celebration of the 150th anniversary of “Vande Mataram” in schools, saying there should be no outside dictation on such matters and no interference in governing the Union Territory.

“This decision has not been made by the cabinet, nor has the education minister signed off on it. We should decide what happens in our schools without outside dictation on these matters,” Abdullah told reporters here in the central Kashmir district.

On October 30, the culture department of J-K had called for schools across Jammu and Kashmir to participate in the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of “Vande Mataram.”

This order faced strong backlash from the Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), an alliance of several

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